E22-Foraging Around, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 19, 2003
New York Producers Getting A Handle On Cattle
Martha Wright
and Adam Matthews
Cornell University
Operating a small beef farm
is a balancing act between
maintaining a profitable mar
ket for the cattle and manag
ing cost. More marketing op
portunities are available to
beef producers that vaccinate
their cattle prior to weaning
and to those that precondition
cattle to feed-bunks and
stored feeds. To accomplish
these tasks, producers need
adequate facilities to prevent
injuries to operator and ani
mal.
Due to a lack of facilities
and time, producers often do
not vaccinate or participate in
collaborative marketing pro
grams. As a result, many beef
producers miss out on oppor
tunities that could benefit
their farms and their cattle.
Martha Wright, livestock
specialist with the NWNY
Dairy, Livestock, and Field
Crops Team, has been work
ing to solve these problems
and help beef producers make
the most of their resources
through better cooperation
and coordination. One of her
main efforts has been helping
farmers build their own cattle
handling facilities. With prop
er facilities, the time required
to handle cattle is minimal.
Developing handling facilities
allows producers to do regular
health checks, AI, pregnancy
examinations, and whole herd
vaccinations.
The NY Beef Quality As
surance (BQA) program certi
fies beef producers as BQA
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compliant if they pass speci
fied standards. The program
requires producers to have a
way of safely handling cattle.
Commercial handling facili
ties are available through
many equipment dealers, but
are often too expensive.
Homemade facilities can be
built with less cost to the pro
ducers.
While homemade facilities
are less expensive than the
commercial alternative, many
producers do not have the
capability to build facilities on
their own. Martha Wright be
lieved that by working togeth
er with other local producers,
proper handling facilities
could be constructed in a team
effort on each farm.
Wright identified the CCE
Grants Program For Innova
tive Small Farm Education of
fered by Cornell’s Small
Farms Program as a great
way to further her efforts. She
worked with an established
discussion group of beef pro
ducers in Seneca County to
develop a proposal for a grant
for a “Cattle Handling Sys
tems” project. This was de
signed to help producers plan
and construct affordable han
dling systems for their live
stock.
Wright’s expectation was
that participants would learn
humane handling techniques
for working with livestock and
then share that experience
with other farmers through di
alogue during farm tours.
With a proper handling sys
tem in place, producers would
be able to utilize vaccination
As part of the small farms grant, beef producers toured the Cornell Beef
Teaching & Research Center in Harford to evaluate home-made facilities built in
1998.
programs, improve herd
health, increase marketing op
tions, and see increased prof
its.
The initial program partici
pants were selected from an
established discussion group
of beef producers in Seneca
County that helped develop
the project proposal. Addi
tional participants were re
cruited through articles in
farm publications and by
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word of mouth. Meetings ro
tated through different farms
so that producers could evalu
ate existing facilities and plan
a course of action for new fa
cilities. Producers interested in
the project who could not at
tend meetings were provided
with printed materials and/or
on-site visits.
Sixteen producers toured
the Cornell Beef Teaching and
Research Center on July 11,
2002. Producers visited the
main beef unit and a satellite
working facility, participating
in an interactive cattle-han
dling demonstration at both
sites. They were able to study
a wooden corral, squeeze
alley, holding chute, and a
purchased head catchall con
structed for less than $1,500.
This is equivalent to the cost
of three feeder calves or two
(Turn to Page E 23)
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